Why did the Muslims build an impregnable castle in the middle of nowhere in the Northern Golan?

 

Why did the Muslim Ayyubid dynasty build such an impressive fortress in this isolated part of the Golan?

 

The answer is that although Salah a-Din (Saladin), who commanded the Ayyubid army, defeated the Crusader army at Karnei Hittin in 1187, and then systematically destroyed all their fortresses, a Crusader kingdom still remained along the coast. Furthermore, the Christians began mobilizing for further Crusades to reestablish the Kingdom of Jerusalem and reconquer Jerusalem. The valley Wadi Nakeb, which is below the fortress, extends from the Upper Hula Valley and was an important highway between Sidon in Lebanon and Damascus in Syria. This citadel was therefore built in 1227 to prevent the Crusaders from attacking Damascus.

 

The fortress was completed within 3 years. In 1253, the Crusaders did attempt to conquer it but they were unsuccessful. Two decades later the castle was handed over by the Ayyubids to the Mongols who had invaded Syria and Palestine from Central Asia.

 

The progress of the Mongols was stopped by the Mamelukes, the next power in the Middle East, at the Battle of Ein Jalud, and the Mameluke commander Baybars appointed himself sultan. Between 1260 to 1277, his governor Bilik reconstructed the fortress, including its semicircular towers. However, when the Mamelukes were able to finally eject the Crusaders from the Holy Land at the end of the 13th century, this castle lost its importance and was abandoned.